Gate valve



NOV. 30, 1937. y 1 N. MOORE 2,100,996

GATE VALVE Filed Feb. 13, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 30, 1937. J. N,MOORE 2,100,996

GATE VALVE Filed Feb. 13, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 mllllllil-llA |n1| WWWPatented Nov. 3.0, 1937 v PATENT OFFICE John N. Moore, Oklahoma City,Okla., assignor of one-half to Tom G. Drake, Oklahoma City, Qkla.

Application February 1,3, 1936, Serial No. 63,702v

2 Claims. (Cl. 251-71) My invention relates to gate valves, and par-Figure 5 is a side elevation of the View shown UNITED sr ticularly togate valves for use upon high presin Fig..3; sure lines such as oil andgas wells. Figure 6 is an elevation of the inner face of The objects fmy invent-i011 are to provide a one of the valve members showing theseating device of this class which is new, novel, practical portion andthe dove-tailed groove in dotted and of utility; which will provide agate valve lines;

having an approximately 45 angle beveled seat Figure 7 is a sideelevation of the View shown surrounding the inlet and a similar seatsurin Fig. `6; and, rounding the outlet of the valve housing, and aFigure 8 is an elevation of the side wall of the l0 closure having twoparts each of which may be valve housing taken from the inside of thelower lO wedged into a seating position; the closure of portion thereof`and showing one of the T-shaped which can be drawn clear of theflow-hole slots or grooves.

when in an open position; which can be Like characters of referencedesignate like used as a choke valve to permit a choke-how; parts in allthe figures. l5 which will insure equal distribution of wear on It isunderstood that various changes in the 15 the Valve faces when a partialopening of the form, proportion, size, shape, weight land other now-holeis desired for use in proration, andthe details of construction,- withinthe scope of my like;which will permitthe use of the full flowinventionmay be resorted to Without departing hole for full ow, swabbing,cleaning and the from the spiritor broad principle of my invenlike;which will provide a positive high pressure tion and without sacriiicingany of the advan- 20 n for closing the flow-hole; which will be durable;tages thereof; and it is also understood thaty the and, which will beeiiicient in accomplishing all drawings are to be interpreted as beingillusthe purposes for which it is intended. trative and not restrictive.

Most gate valves of present use consist sub- The inventive idea involvedis capable of re` stantially of a housing having a continuous fiowceiving a variety of mechanical expressions one 25 hole therethrough,and a gate movable between of which, for the purpose of illustrating theinseats across the flow hole in order to obstruct vention, is shown inthe accompanying drawings, the flow of fluid therethrough. That type ofwherein:- gate valve cannot successfully be used as a choke- Thereference numeral I indicates as a Whole valve due to excessive wear bythe uidupon the a valvehousing having an inlet 2 at its rear end, 30

seat and the end of the gate when the gate is andan'outlet 3at itsforward end. The housing in a partially opened position. Since the seatsisv provided with flanges 4 and 5 whereby it may themselves are in factthe sides of grooves exbeconnected in a flow line, notshown. Betweentending across the how hole, they are not only the inner Aends of theinlet and outlet portions is prone to become worn by the iiowing uid,but providedi a valve chamber B vwhich opens up- 35 the grooves areoften partially lled by detritus wardly into a vertical chamber 'I whichis suror other extraneous matter in the luid, thus imrounded at itsupper end by an annular outpairing the proper closing of the gate. Y,standing flange 8. A bonnet 9 having its lower My valve may bepositively closed without danflange Ill attached by bolts II to theflange 8 4o ger of obstruction from detritus or the like. vextendsupwardly and terminates in a second 40 With these and other objects inview as will outstanding annular iiange I2. The bonnet 9 more fullyappear hereinbelow, my invention forms a chamber I3 which acts asacontinuation consists in the construction, novel features, and of thechamber 'I when the bonnet is in place. combination of parts hereinaftermore fully de- The upper-end of the bonnet is centrally bored scribed,pointed out in the claims hereto apto receive the smooth surfaced upperportion I4 45 pended, and illustrated in the accompanying of anactuating shaft I5, the lower portion of three-sheet drawing, of which,which is equipped with threads I6. The shaft Figure l is an elevationalsectional view taken 'I5 has-an annular enlargement I1 which seats in aplane lying longitudinally of the iiow-line; within a socket formed inthe upper surface of Figure 2 is an elevational sectional View takentheotop of the bonnet. A plate or disc I8 is at- 50 in a plane lying atright angles to the flow-line; tached by nuts I9 upon bolts 22 to theupper Figure 3 is a plan view of one of the closure surface of thebonnetA and surrounds the shaft operating wedges; K above theenlargement I1, the bonnet and plate Figure 4 is an end elevation of theview shown .cooperating to prevent longitudinal movement of ss'inFia; Yv Y `the Shaft.. ..1 55

Surrounding the shaft I5, the upper surface of the plate I8 is providedwith an upstanding annular wall 2e for receiving packing material 2lwhich is adapted to be compressed into packing engagement with the shaftby a compression element 23 which is also engaged with the bolts 22 andadapted to be urged toward the plate I8 by a plurality of nuts 24thereon.

The upper end of the shaft I is provided with a suitable hand-wheel 25,and its lower and threaded end portion is threadedly engaged with-V in ahollow sleeve 26 having a square outstanding head 21 at its lower end.

The inner ends of the inlet 2 and outlet 3 are provided respectivelywith exteriorly threaded removable valve seats 30 and 3 I each having abevelled face. Y

Intermediate the inner ends ofthe inlet and outlet, the sides of thehousing I are each provided with an inverted T-shaped groove 32 (Figs. 2and 8). VThe twogrooves 32 are identically positioned with relation tothe inner ends of the inlet and outlet and are in alinement with eachother.

As a means for opening and closing the inlet and outletsimultaneously,the following described structure is provided. i

In Figs. 3, 4, andy 5 is detailed one of two complemental wedge elements4B which together form a wedge and each of which is provided in itsupper and inner surface with a semi-cylindrical groove "si below whichis a larger half-square groove 42 for receiving one half of the squarehead 21 car-Y ried by the lower end of the sleeve 26. The opposite endsof the element 40 are provided with projecting guide lugs 43 and 44which extend into the two T-shaped grooves 32 in the housing I andprevent rotation of the element 40 when the shaft I5 is rotated.` Thelug 44 of one of the elements 40 projects between the two lugs 43 of theother element 40 when the elements are placed around the head 21 of thesleeve, and thus independent vertical movement of the two elements i6 isprevented. i

As may best be seen in Figs. 1 and 4, the outer surface 45 of each ofthe elements 40 is beveled upwardly Yand outwardly and this beveledsurface is provided with a dove-tailed-spline or rib 46 which extendslongitudinally of the surface 45.

A closure' element 50 is splined to'each of the ribs 4S and is permitteda sliding engagement therewith, but is prevented from removal there-Vfrom except by ane-upward and outward sliding movement. Its downwardand inward movement is limited by the provision of an upper portion 5Iwhich closes the upper end of each of the dove-tailed grooves 52 withinwhich the ribs 46 are positioned. The inner faces 53 of each of theclosure elements 50 are complementally beveled to fit the surface 45 ofthe wedge member with which it is engaged, and longitudinal grooves 52are provided in the surfaces of these faces 53.

The outer end of each of the closures 50 is provided with a beveledseating surface 54 adapted to seat within the seats 30 of thehousing andto close the inlet and outlet respectively.

As best illustrated in Figs. 2, 3, and 5, each of the closure elements50 is provided upon each of its sides with projecting lugs 5 5 and 56which project respectively into the two T-shaped grooves 32 in the sideWalls of the housing.

Operation Considering the valve to be in afclosed position as shown inFig. 1, the lugs 55 and 56 will be located in the horizontal portions 51of thel T-shaped grooves 32. Rotation of the shaft I5 by the hand wheel25 will raise the sleeve 26 which in turn will raise the two wedgeelements 43. Since the elements are dove-tailed to the closures 50,upward movement of the elements 40 will cause the closures 5G to bedrawn toward each other, the lugs 55 and 56 sliding along the portions51 and coming together in alinement with the vertical portion 58 of thegrooves 32. This operation will of course unseat the portions 54 of theclosures 5I) from the seats 30 and 3I. When the closures are in thisposition, they function as a choke-valve.

After the lugs 55 and 56 have met, further upward movement of theelements 40 will raise the lugs 55 and 56 within the portion 58 of thegroove 32 and consequently the closures 50 will be raised out of thechamber 6 and into the chamber 1. Both the inlet 2 and outlet 3 willthen be fully opened.

In closing the valve, the shaft I5 is rotated in an opposite directionand the elements 40 and closures 50 are forced downwardly until the lugs55 and 56 reach the portions 51 of the grooves 32. Further downwardmovement of the elements 40 then causes the lugs 55 and 56 to travelawayfrom each other in the portions 51 of the grooves 32 and theelements 40 then act as wedges to force the portions 54 of the closures50 into positive seating positions.

'The lugs 43 and 44 carried by the wedge elements 40 are so positionedvertically that they never leave the portions 58 of the grooves 32.

It may readily be seen that when the valve is ina fully open position,removal of the bonnet 9 will accomplish removal of the complete valveassembly since the portion 58 of the grooves 32 extend to the upper endof the housing I. Replacement of any worn parts may then be quicklyaccomplished in an obvious manner.

From the foregoing description it may be seen that my structureaccomplishes the following: permits the use of annular removable seatingsurfaces for the inlet and outlet; offers an unobstructed flow-hole whenopen; provides a means for positively introducing the closures intoalinement with the inlet and outlet and also a means for moving theclosures into seating positions by moving them in directions lying inaxial alinement with the seating surfaces; provides means for positivelyholding the closures in relatively identical selective partially openedpositions so that they may act as choke-valves; and, provides a wedgingeffect for positively seating the closures.

It is further pointed out that, when the valve assembly is in a closedposition, any line pressure exerted Vupon the face of the closure 50which is closing the inlet 2 tending to open the inlet, will also beexerted in a direction to hold the other closure 50 seated.

Obviously, the invention is susceptible of embodiment in forms otherthan that which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings anddescribed herein, and applicable for uses and purposes other than asdetailed, and I therefore consider as my own all such modifications andadaptations and other uses of the form of the device herein described asfairly fall within the scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimedV and desired to besecured by Letters Patent, is: Y Y

1. In a valve, a housing, a ow-hole extending therethrough and comprisedof an axially alined inlet and outlet, a valve chamber between the innerends of the flow-hole and extending upwardly therefrom perpendicularly,a removable bonnet over the chamber, a shaft rotatably carried by thebonnet and held against longitudinal movement with relation thereto,said shaft having its lower end threaded, an internally threaded sleeveengaged by the threads of the shaft and having a square head on itslower end, a wedge positively engaged by the head and having oppositelydisposed inwardly and downwardly beveled surfaces, a closure for theinner end of the inlet and another for the inner end of the outlet, eachclosure dove-tailed to one of the inclined faces of the wedging element,and means carried cooperatively by the housing, by the closures, and bythe wedge for forcing the closures to remain adjacent each other whilethey are in the chamber above the flow-hole, for releasing them tomovement away from each other by the wedge when they reach a position inthe ow-hole in axial alineinent therewith, and for preventing rotationof the wedge; said means including: an inverted substantially T-shaped ygroove carried by the housing walls at each side of the flow-hole, saidgrooves being alined with each other in similar positions with relationyto A the flow-hole; outstanding lugs carried by the wedge, slidablyengaged in the grooves, confined within the leg portions thereof; and,outstanding lugs carried by the closures and slidably engaged within thegrooves, the last inentioned lugs adapted to slide upwardly anddownwardly in the leg portions of the grooves as the wedge is movedvertically, and adapted to slide horizontally within the horizontalportions of the grooves after they reach the lowermost end of theirthrows if downward movement of the wedge is continued.

2. In a valve, a housing, a flow-hole extending' therethrough andlcomprised of an axially alined inlet and outlet, a valve chamber betweenthe inner endsof the flow-hole and extending upwardly therefromperpendicularly, a removable bonnet over the chamber, a shaft rotatablycarried by the bonnet and held against longitudinal movement withrelation thereto, said shaft having its lower end threaded, a sleeveengaged by the threads of the shaft and having a square head on itslower end, a pair of complemental wedging elements positively engaged bythe square head and having oppositely disposed inwardly and downwardlybeveled surfaces, a closure for the inner end of the inlet and anotherfor the inner end of the outlet, each closure dovetailed to the inclinedface of one of the wedging elements, and means for forcing the closuresto remain adjacent each other while they are in the chamber above theflow-hole, and releasing them to movement away from each other by thewedge elements when they are kpositioned in the flow-hole in axialalinement therewith; said means including: an inverted substantially T-shaped groove carried by the housing walls at each side of theflow-hole, said grooves being alined with each other in similarpositions with relation to the flow-hole; outstanding lugs carried bythe wedge, slidably engaged in the grooves, and conned within the legportions thereof; and, outstanding lugs carried by the closures andslidably engaged within the grooves, the last mentioned lugs adapted toslide' upwardly and downwardly in the leg portions of the grooves as thewedge is moved vertically, and adapted to slide horizontally within thehorizontal portions of the grooves after they reach the lowermost end oftheir throws if downward movement of the wedge is continued.

JOHN N. MOORE.

